Rosberg reveals an ERS error during the United States Grand Prix

After securing pole position in Austin, Nico Rosberg got off to the best start and seemed to be in a position to win the Grand Prix. However, on the 24th lap, a bold maneuver from Lewis Hamilton left the German driver stunned, and the victory slipped away from his teammate, who thus takes another step towards the much-coveted world title.

After the race, Rosberg revealed that he had made a handling error in triggering his ERS at the end of the straight. “I made a mistake because I used the wrong thing to get more KERS,” he stated to Autosport. The KERS is the kinetic energy recovery system, which stores energy generated during braking in a battery that releases power when the driver chooses.

« When I saw him coming, I decided to use a bit of extra power but it never came. I thought I was using the right thing, but there was a delay with it. If I had done it with the button it would have been immediate, but with a switch, there is a delay, so I never got the extra ERS. It was a mistake I wasn’t aware of. »

However, without this mistake, Hamilton would probably have passed anyway, even though Rosberg thinks he could have put up a bit more resistance: « I’m sure I could have done better, but it’s a judgment issue, if I had defended a lot, he would have braked late on the outside and gotten me on the next corner. I thought that indicating to him that I was closing the door would be enough to prevent him from trying, but it wasn’t the case. Because I was already partly inside, I thought it would be enough for him to think he shouldn’t try, but it wasn’t the case. »

After this new duel won by Lewis Hamilton against Nico Rosberg, the latter sees his title chances gradually diminishing. He is now 24 points behind his teammate. However, there are still 75 points up for grabs with two victories remaining.